Press Release, 17.04.2024

Photo: Sergei Mitrokhin at a meeting with Muscovites / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

On 17 April, the majority of deputies of the Moscow City Duma ignored Sergei Mitrokhin’s draft appeal to the Moscow Mayor. Mitrokhin demands that Mayor must return to Muscovites their right to get information about construction projects planned in their area. The document, which received support from deputies of A Just Russia and the Communist Party, received only 14 votes in favour, since representatives of pro-government’s United Russia and My Moscow traditionally left the meeting room during the discussion of the draft intiatated by a Yabloko deputy.

In his appeal, Sergei Mitrokhin called on Sergei Sobyanin to return the practices of informing citizens about planned construction projects in their area, which was stopped in March 2022 along with the abolition of mandatory public hearings on development projects.

The fact is that public hearings are not only an important stage in making a decision on the city development, but also inform citizens about the authorities’ plans for changes in their area, which directly affect the quality of life of Muscovites: as a result of dense development the living conditions of citizens worsen, their real estate becomes cheaper, and local businesses may suffer. At present, timely notification of Muscovites and holders of real estate located in the city has been stopped. The authorities do not even inform Muscovites about already adopted urban planning decisions in a systematic, accessible and complete form.

It should be also noted that earlier the parliamentary majority of the Moscow City Duma did not support the draft appeal of Sergei Mitrokhin to the Moscow Mayor demanding that public hearings on issues of urban planning policy are returned to Muscovites.

Sergei Mitrokhin

is a deputy of the Moscow City Duma,

a member of the Federal Political Committee of the Yabloko party,

Yabloko party Chairman in 2008-2015

Candidate of Political Sciences.